Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2023 i Cruise & Travel

Set among Ghent’s cobbled streets, canals and chocolate shops is the intimidating fortress, the Castle of the Counts. In the heart of the city centre, the castle dates to the ninth century and is a must for any first-time visitors to understand the city surrounding it. As I wandered its ramparts, I could almost hear the whispers of its often-turbulent past during the Middle Ages. Although thanks to a rather humorous audio tour voiced by comedian Wouter Deprez, I was treated to tales and historical anecdotes with a smile. If that’s not enough to satisfy your culture cravings, the Three Towers of Ghent – aka Saint Nicholas Church, Belfry and Saint Bavo’s Cathedral – will hit the spot. Away from the castle, I stood for a few moments of peace…

There are certainly more glamorous places to start a cruise. Viking Octantis sets off from Milwaukee, a blue-collar city on Lake Michigan that’s best known for its connection with a song recorded by Johnny Cash and Rod Stewart, namely What’s Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me). You can have a night out in the regenerated Third Quarter area and sample the seafood market, but it’s a starting point, not a destination. In fact, the destination on this cruise is not a place on land at all. For eight days, you have privileged access to the largest connected bodies of freshwater on Earth. The Great Lakes stretch from the northeastern states of the US far into Ontario on the Canadian side. There are five lakes, and Octantis…

You’ve chosen your dream destination and decided on the cruise line and ship, which leaves one important decision to make before you book. Where are you going to sleep? With more than 30 different cabin categories on the largest vessels, the choice can seem bewildering. However, armed with our guide you can cut to the chase to find your perfect accommodation at sea. WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE? Essentially, cabins (also called staterooms or suites) boil down to three main options: inside, seaview and balcony. Other classifications relate to cabin size, position and whether they’re solo, family or accessible rooms. Inside, or interior, cabins are the most budget-friendly and the smallest, averaging around 150 to 185 square feet (14 to 17 square metres). You’ll get all the standard amenities of other cabins,…

At times it seems surreal to be cruising through one of the Earth’s most unpredictable and inhospitable regions amid the all-pampering environs of Silversea’s luxurious expedition ship, Silver Endeavour. With one crew member for every guest, butler service, fine dining and opulent surroundings, it’s easy to forget how hostile Antarctica can be. But Silver Endeavour was built to take such untamed environments in its stride with a hull that has been strengthened to Polar Class 6 specification, enabling it to cruise through waters with ice up to a metre thick. ESSENTIALS This 200-passenger ship was not originally built for the Silversea fleet and so has a contrasting look and feel from its other expedition vessels. Having started life with Crystal Cruises, the former Crystal Endeavor sailed for just a few…

There was a time when Antarctic cruises involved uncomfortable yet adventurous sea journeys on old Russian icebreakers. You felt every pitch of the Drake Passage and dining was more borsch than lobster bisque. The stunning new 132-passenger ship Sylvia Earle from AE Expeditions – the new name for Aurora Expeditions – maintains the small Antarctic ship tradition yet with the mod cons of comfort, stability and an environment-first ethos. ESSENTIALS Instantly eye-catching is the rounded Ulstein X-bow of this eight-deck vessel, which not only absorbs wave energy making for a smoother ride, but also, in keeping with being named after a world-famous conservation marine biologist, enables greater fuel efficiency. Sylvia Earle has just joined sister ship Greg Mortimer in the small expedition cruise market to the polar regions and is…

This icy expanse lies off the shore of Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Norwegian-owned archipelago of Svalbard. It’s an area of extremes, where polar bears are said to outnumber people, where you can’t give birth and cannot die (on record, at least), and where the summer-long midnight sun gives way to polar night and the dancing lights of the Aurora Borealis come winter. Photographer, conservation filmmaker and expedition leader Florian Ledoux, who leads small-group tours for expedition brand Secret Atlas, captured this spectacular image. He said: “We had sailed as far north along the west coast of Spitsbergen as the pack ice allowed us. To explore further we launched the Zodiacs and weaved in and out of the huge ice rafts that are prevalent early in the season in…

It’s silent and still as I lie back, floating on the water, mist rising around me as volcanic rocks jut up from a blanket of milky blue. Goosebumps prickle my exposed skin, but beneath the water it’s hot and soothing, with temperatures of around 40C and a high concentration of silica turning my skin silky smooth. I’m at Iceland’s Blue Lagoon, indulging in ‘float therapy’ – an in-water treatment that has me stretched out, swirled around and gently massaged until I’m in something of a hypnotic daze. It’s one of several spa treatments offered at this famous geothermal pool, where the silica-rich waters, heated by a geothermal power plant nearby, have long been celebrated for their health properties. Located an hour’s drive from Reykjavik’s port and approximately 50 miles west…

We collectively hold our breath as a territorial male rhino we’ve been watching from afar abruptly turns to face us and, with beady black eyes fixed upon our safari truck, starts nonchalantly ambling towards it. Our driver Sheldon nudges forward to maintain the distance between us, but this bruiser keeps on coming, swishing through the long grasses and onto the dusty track just a few metres away, where he pauses to eyeball us while pondering his next move. I feel a frisson of excitement as Sheldon quietly mutters: “He’s deciding whether to charge us,” and prepare for the inevitable burst of acceleration if this two-tonne hulk breaks into a gallop. They can reach nearly 30mph which, we’re told, is like the sound of a train getting up to full speed.…

Standing in the middle of the immaculate lawn, I look around at the beautiful mansions with their grand entrances and enormous balconies. It’s hard to believe they were built as 19th-century ‘holiday cottages’. Welcome to Georgia’s Jekyll Island, once the winter playground of America’s wealthiest families including the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts. We peek inside one of the not-so-modest homes and visit a heart-warming turtle sanctuary and museum on the barrier island that recently celebrated its 75th anniversary as a state park. It’s one of many intriguing stops on this very unusual cruise – part river, part ocean and part waterway – that will take even the most seasoned US visitors to very different parts of Florida and neighbouring Georgia and South Carolina. It’s a world away from the theme parks…

Australian river cruise and touring company APT Travelmarvel launched three brand-new ships – Capella, Polaris and Vega – bringing in a contemporary vibe for fans of river cruising. Designed with picturesque European river views in mind, Travelmarvel Vega has an abundance of outside space and has been cleverly built so the sun deck is easy to reach no matter where you are on the ship. ESSENTIALS Identical in size and style to both of its sister ships, Vega sleeps just 182 passengers in 91 cabins, which range from Window Staterooms at 14.2sq m (with a small window) through to the spacious 24sq m Owner’s Suite cabins. The latter include a lovely lounge area and beds facing out to the water. EXPERIENCE Whether relaxing with a drink at the rooftop bar,…

We love going away for winter sun, but we’ve done the Caribbean so many times we’d like to try somewhere new. We’re not particularly keen on going to Asia – where else would you recommend? Adam Sharp, cruise expert, CruiseKings Satisfy that craving for winter sunshine by visiting Dubai and the Emirates. More and more cruise lines are sailing to this destination due to its guaranteed hot climate, cultural ports of call and unique experiences – MSC Virtuosa is sailing direct from Dubai this winter. What’s more, it’s simple to combine land stays and cruise, so we’ve seen an array of itineraries pairing UAE cruises with luxurious all-inclusive stays in Mauritius. It may be freezing back home, but during our winter the Indian Ocean enjoys its dry season, resulting in…

The tiny jewel of Belize, the smallest country in Central America, is located on the Caribbean Sea south of the Yucatan Peninsula. It has the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, which sprawls from just 30 metres offshore to 25 miles from the coast. Among its corals lies an incredible array of sea life as well as the awe-inspiring Blue Hole. Yet the cultural aspects of this rainforest and beach-blessed country are equally fascinating. The original inhabitants were the Maya, who still make up 10% of the population and whose ancestors have lived here for thousands of years. The ancient Mayas built impressive ceremonial pyramids and palatial structures, including the ruins of Xunantunich on the border between Belize and Guatemala in the lushly vegetated Cayo district. The first construction…

Settling into a chair out on deck, my book lies unopened. I can’t take my eyes off the passing scenery, where the morning sun picks out a colour chart of different shades of green on the verdant vineyard slopes stretching to the water’s edge. Silvery schist, the slate-like stone that lines the hills, glints in the light and the vista is dotted with remote farmhouses perched on hillsides and signs for port houses. Most instantly recognisable is Sandeman’s brooding figure of a caped man wearing a wide-brimmed hat. As we continue our gentle meander along the river, it’s hard to believe the Douro was once a treacherous waterway that caused many traditional wooden rabelo boats to founder as they carried barrels of port downstream to the warehouses of Porto. In…

Nothing prepares you for Alaska – a vast wilderness more than five times the size of the UK where bears roam, salmon spawn and glaciers thread frozen tentacles around snow-capped mountains as they creep down to the sea. It’s an extraordinary place, the 49th state of the US but as chalk compared to the Lower 48’s cheese. The skies are clear, the roads empty and there is a delightful frontier feel about its small-scale towns and cities. I’ve come exploring on Ocean Victory, an expedition ship that holds just 186 passengers and has kayaks, inflatable Zodiacs and an 18-strong team of naturalists, marine biologists and kayakers determined we see, do and learn as much as possible during our 10-night voyage. No lazing around here then; instead, we alternate between calls…

Nothing beats a cruise that arrives or departs from New York City: watching the city skyline unfold, feeling a link with the long history of transatlantic travel and the golden age of the cruise liner, and picturing a time when some of the world’s most iconic ships graced the city’s harbours. Whichever season you choose to visit for a pre or post-cruise stay, New York always has something exciting to offer – whether that’s getting outdoors in Central Park in the summer or enjoying Rockefeller Ice Rink in winter, an art trail through the High Line in spring or exploring in the technicolour of autumn. And then there’s always the lure of retail therapy along Fifth Avenue or a show on Broadway. You’ll never go hungry here either, with culinary…

There’s some bad news, says the ship’s purser, Hans, as he comes over with a worried look on his face to where we sit happily ensconced in the hot tub. The lock is closed and it’s a public holiday, so there’s no one to open it for us. We’ll have to moor up here for the night. He braces himself for our disappointment, but with the grassy wildflower-covered banks of the Petit Rhône rising to either side, the sun high in a cloudless sky overhead and the bubbles of the Jacuzzi gurgling around me, I can’t think of anywhere I’d prefer to spend an extra night, however unexpected it might be. Life moves at its own tempo here in the south of France, which rather suits the predictably slow pace…

MUNO MANDIZHA SENIOR CRUISE SPECIALIST, UNFORGETTABLE GREECE More and more travellers are discovering the benefits of yacht cruising, with smaller vessels perfect for escaping the crowds to explore tiny, charming Greek islands such as Milos, Koufonisia and Serifos. Koufonisia is so unexpected. As you exit the small port, you realise this island is more than what it seems. A short walk from the port takes you past a couple of stylish wine bars offering idyllic sunset views. The road meanders through town past some quaint Mykonos-style boutique shops, picture-perfect streets and traditional tavernas. I love the warm, spirited atmosphere that’s created by local Greek people and their families. When it comes to up-and-coming islands, Milos is the new kid on the block. You can dock in buzzy Adamas, the main…